Last minute gifts for readers, writers & us!

Quick, the big day is nearly here and you need a gift for someone special. Problem? No money, no time, you’re quarantined or snowed in? Fear not, because I have great (low-cost) gift suggestions. Feel free to keep a few for yourself because anyone who’s made it this far through 2020 deserves a treat!

 Don’t overlook the obvious

 You write or you read, right? Your friends probably do too. And what better – at least, non-X rated way -- of spending a long winter’s night than with a good book? Except there’s that money thing. You’d order online but the shipping time means your true love, best friend, or great-aunt would be lucky to get that token of your appreciation before next year’s yuletide. Or, you’d hit your favorite bookstore except for, oh, that money thing again.

Consider making a quick visit or call to your local used book emporium. Some, like Dallas-based chain Half Price Books near me, even have offerings fresh from the publisher. These are called overruns and they include recent bestsellers which your favorite author would much prefer be bought by you than returned to the publisher. Pick up several to really wow that reading friend. Or, check out the vintage/classic offerings. One of a kind, and often beautifully bound. 

You can even think beyond books for friends who are aficionados of vinyl records, classic movies, board games and more. But maybe you really are in quarantine. Or there’s no bookstore within radius of a reindeer sleigh ride, and shipping would cost more than the gift itself. Thank dog for the Internet to deliver subscriptions – real or online – for periodicals, e-books, and audiobooks in the twinkling of an eye. 

Image by monicore from Pixabay

The slightly less obvious

Consider giving an experience – a class or conference registration. While many writing conferences are still debating whether to go in-person for 2021, some have already made the leap. Lucky for last minute gift-givers, online conferences are much more affordable.

The Historical Novel Society – North America has already opted for a virtual version of its 2021 conference, originally scheduled for June 24-26 in San Antonio, Texas. Early registration, opening February 15 is $219 for HNS members, $249 for nonmembers. And check out writer Erica Verrillo’s blog for ongoing conferences and writing conferences, including virtual events.

If you’re looking for virtual classes, Blake Kimsey’s Writing Workshops Dallas has something for every writer. Prices range from $40 to $1,900 and everything in between. Not sure which to choose? Send that favorite scribe a gift card!

Additional sites for online classes include the likes of Gotham Writers Workshops and MasterClass.

Or make it yourself

But perhaps you’re looking for something tangible, personal, a gift you can make with your own hands. (No, I’m not talking about cookies. Although cookies are always great. I would never disrespect cookies). How about an individual, handmade book? Called chapbooks, they date to the earliest period of bookmaking and are typically printed on single sheets of paper, folded into eight or more pages, and stitched together.

Modern day versions, called zines (pronounced zeens), can even be handwritten, or pictorial with minimal text. I’ve been itching to make some since attending a workshop years ago. Need inspiration? See my post, “The zines of our postmodern age.” Or go to Writers Write for practical folding and stitching techniques. It will be a gift to remember.

Wordcraft – The zines of our postmodern age

It was the first ever discussion of zines in a traditional milieu (the Dallas Public Library) before the first ever Dallas ZineParty. And although I kind of, sort of thought I knew what a zine was, some of the examples surprised me. So what, exactly is a zine? (Pronounced zeen, like a shortened form of magazine.) And why are these small, often handmade publications so popular?

The format – one or a few sheets of printed or even handwritten paper – took off in the 1990’s, a reaction to the digital age comparable to the 19^th century’s Arts and Crafts movement’s reaction to industrialization. But panel moderator/artist/zine publisher RandyGuthmiller sees their roots much farther back, and often political. Think Martin Luther’s 95 theses nailed to a church door. Or broadsides still damp from underground presses or mimeographs espousing revolution. Or grimy pamphlets left in public places telling you what to do if stopped by the police.

Except today’s zine tend to be more literary and artistic, often wordless, like the Shapes zines of panel moderator/artist Randy Guthmiller. “I just started making my zine as a way to make friends,” he told the packed audience for last Saturday’s panel. “It got me out of being so weird all the time.” Shapes is, in fact, a zine of drawings of shapes, which he often distributes at art galleries.

The annual Zine Fest Houston compilation (edited by panelists Anastasia Kirages and Sarah Welch) is predominantly pictorial, packed with cartoons and hand drawn images, with only minimal text. (On the other hand, Kirages also puts out her own faux-naïve handwritten zine, “Why I Love Texas,” with only a few clip art illustrations.)

“There’s no rules,” proclaimed panelist David LaBounty of Plano, editor of The First Line (which has made the move to small literary magazine). “It’s anything self-published that you do for passion, not for profit.”

“I started designing and releasing zines of my friends’ artworks,” said panelist Sandra Davalos of the musical group Cemetery Girls. “I feel it’s important to share art.”

Still “why make zines now when things can exist so easily in the digital world?” Guthmiller asked. “What keeps you going in the postmodern age?’

“I like to connect through this tangible object,” Kirages said.

“A more human way to connect,” Guthmiller echoed.

Another draw for zine makers is, “control of your own product,” Welch said. “When you’re doing self-publishing, you have control over all aspects.”

Of course, there’s self-publishing and then there’s self-publishing. LaBounty has tried both, and finds that when he publishes online, he keeps tinkering with the result. With paper, there’s no such option. And he finds that satisfying. “Once it’s done, I want it out.”

Finally, though, “What makes the zine form so important is the community,” Guthmiller said, the growing community of friends and fellow zine enthusiasts to connect with. In Texas, Houston and Austin already have active zine communities.

And although Sunday was the first Dallas Zine Party, held at The Wild Detectives bookstore in Oak Cliff, participants hope to make it an annual event. Until the next one, Dallas zine enthusiasts can satisfy their hunger with zine fests in Houston and Austin, check zine catalogs, local independent bookstores, and the Dallas Public Library’s budding zine collection. And keep their eyes open – you might spot a zine left at a bus station, a coffee shop, an art gallery. Still missing them? Try your own hand at making zines!